While working in a very complex footprint optimization project that involved the build-up of a greenfield mfg campus in Mexico, and simultaneously preparing and eventually transferring two US plants to it, Tom developed the high-level roadmap and the detailed action plan to execute and track its progress vs the targets defined in the business plan supporting it. Because of its size and visibility, the business plan was approved by the BoD after the leadership team directly presented to it.
Because of the complexity of the endeavor, Tom gathered the perspectives and specific inputs of multiple stakeholders on the project, not only the Operations teams but also the Commercial, Finance, Tax, IT, HR, Supply Chain and other functions that would be involved in setting it up. With a hands-on approach, Tom incorporated and sequenced all the necessary actions to properly execute such a complicated project. When needed, he personally addressed any of the issues to be resolved, including the temporary leadership, employee announcement and wind-down of one of the plants being transferred.
While the action plan was extremely complex at the details level, the high-level roadmap accounted for a pragmatic approach that allowed us to ramp-up the new plant in the best possible way, by starting with the easier processes and systems and eventually adding layers of activity that would build up on what we had already mastered. Had we not planned it as such we would have overwhelmed the new operation and delayed the entire project.
To provide an idea of the magnitude of the project and its relevance to the company, the project was proactively announced to our shareholders and analysts covering the stock to communicate the amount of upfront investment to be executed and the ultimate profitability benefits once the project was completed and achieved its expected run-rate. A couple of years after the initial announcement when the project had achieved (and exceeded) its business case targets, it was again shared with the financial community as part of a quarterly financial results call, and we could all see how the stock price jump right as the market opened. This was by definition, one of those rare projects where we could ultimately see its direct and individual impact on creating shareholder value.
While the project involved many people for a long period of time, Tom was at the very center since the very conception of it.
Sr. Vice President and GM, established Midwest MFG Corporation
I had the privilege to engage with Tom on a recent capacity expansion project. The project entailed starting greenfield production in an established footprint but the processes and products being introduced were new to the location. The project had seen increased scope and multiple project leaders the 18 months prior to Tom coming in to support. The project was lacking structure and cadence which led to poor execution. Tom was able to leverage his experience and expertise to quickly gain trust with the core team and help define the structure of the team, the cadence of how we operate, and the overall standard work for running a project that is large and complex. Execution is improving each week and the project is now on a path to realize the benefits..
Sr. Director NA Operations - major global manufacturing firm
Tom joined the company during the onset of the pandemic, when the company was facing significant business challenges. Shortly after he started, he recognized a significant opportunity to improve our cash position by reducing our raw material and work in process inventory. He used his operations and lean skills to identify inefficiencies in the purchasing process and inventory strategies for a large number of our purchased parts and implemented changes in processes to reduce the company's inventory by approximately 20% within 9 months, resulting in a sizable improvement in cash flow.
These accomplishments were very impactful and were achieved despite Tom being new to the company and having to learn the organization in a challenging environment due to the pandemic and the shift to remote work.
CEO – Established MKE manufacturing firm
Tom has so much hands-on experience in improving businesses and relocating businesses, with a true focus on doing it well and doing it with urgency. In the years that I worked closely with Tom, I found his knowledge to be invaluable and his guidance to be absolutely essential to our success.
Plant Manager, large Midwest Manufacturing Firm
When Tom led the Strategic Operations group here, he was not only able to harness the multitude of operational factors and data points as well as different stakeholders’ perspectives and interests to create a cohesive plan from strategy to execution. His extensive experience in manufacturing, solid grasp of financial impacts and ability to see the entire system as the sum of the interrelated organizational functions give him an edge when creating strategic plans for sure, but also when creating a systematic approach to execute a plan. I enjoyed working with and learning from Tom and highly recommend him as solid partner to support anyone who is looking for a partner to support bringing their strategic goals to realization.
Global and PMO Leader, large Midwest Manufacturing Firm
Tom has been a partner and trusted advisor to me on many significant initiatives requiring comprehensive change management, planning and execution. We worked directly on a strategic deployment that involved transitioning a 500 person manufacturing facility in the U.S. to a greenfield site in Mexico.
As an HR professional, I appreciate Tom’s understanding and attention to the human aspects of business.
HR Executive, Global Packaging company
Tom was the principal coordinator of a major business transformation project that involved an expansion into Mexico. With over 40 years in the commercial real estate and corporate services business I place Tom at the top business executives who represented the interest of his employer and drove a multi-facetted process to a successful conclusion. Top Tier!
COO, Major International Industrial Real Estate firm
Tom is a very passionate professional with vast experience and knowledge of strategic planning and execution.
The challenges we faced together over 20 years encompass multi-million-dollar projects and initiatives with global scope... in North America (Canada/US/MX) and also EU and the Caribbean. In some instances, the projects required full build-ups that required the development of professional relationships with local entities, government regulators, and new partners.
In partnership with Tom, we developed procedures to execute the transfer of assets and products that included very detailed processes to assure compliance and the readiness to send and receive what was planned to move. Tom participated, facilitated, and led … leveraging the experience and expertise of the subject matter experts from the different disciplines.
Strategic Operations Director, established manufacturing firm
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